'Worst atmosphere' lay the foundation for a reversal with a cool victory for two consecutive games against Thailand

The card gate broke out when trying to get out of the table tennis gate involving Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in. Suspicions spread that employees of the Korea Football Association and some players played cards during the off-season training in the United Arab Emirates in January. The Korea Football Association described the situation as a light "game" at the time, but said it was a violation of the rules that an employee entered the player's lounge and played cards together. The employee was relieved of his position. 스포츠토토

Soccer fans were greatly disappointed as players' infighting and the abnormal behavior of the association staff were continuously known. It's already past, and the card gate was held ahead of the table tennis gate, but I can't talk about it. Criticism is mounting as a series of controversies have occurred in the national team's off-season training and international competitions. Some say that it was difficult for the national team, which collapsed outside the game, to perform well in the 2023 Asian Cup in the first place.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who was urgently deployed as a firefighter, also felt burdened. He planned to solve internal problems within the team, including the selection of Lee Kang-in, but he lost strength again due to the "Cardgate" controversy. Fans' boycott of the match against Thailand subsided, but the Korea Football Association and the National Team continued to point out the reform, leading to the match against Thailand in the worst atmosphere.

Either way, the team needs to win in two consecutive matches against Thailand, the third and fourth qualifying matches for the Asian region for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North-Central America. Only when the team overcome external challenges and displays good performance can it change the minds of fans to some extent. Never let down its guard as Thailand has strong capability to advance to the round of 16 teams at the 2023 Asian Cup. Korea must prepare well and display its potential with two consecutive wins.

Currently, Korea is leading Group C in the second qualifying round for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. It defeated Singapore 5-0 at home in the first round and China 3-0 at away games in the second round. If Korea secures a win in both matches against Thailand, it will effectively confirm its advance to the third qualifying round.